TAKEN 2

            Here comes again the most awaited part two of the thriller film, Taken 2, preceding this film, Taken, which was released on 2008. Taken 2, a thriller, action and crime film directed by Olivier Megaton, started as Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) with his wife Lenore, (Famke Janssen) and his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) went to Istanbul to have a family vacation coming from the United States. 

As what happened in Taken, the first part of the film prior Taken 2, Bryan Mills’ daughter, Kim went to Paris with her friends to have a vacation. Unfortunately, Kim was abruptly kidnapped to utilize her as a prostitute in Albania. Now, Bryan Mills, a retired CIA agent, after knowing what had happened to his daughter, he then went to Europe to find his daughter. The film ended as Bryan Mills killed all the abductors of his daughter, Kim who tried to sell her as a prostitute. Having been killed the kidnappers of his daughter, one of the fathers of the kidnappers who Bryan Mills killed in order to redeem his daughter being captivated, took revenge. As Bryan Mills and his family were in Istanbul, his foes planned how to kidnap Bryan and his family. Bryan Mills and his wife Lenore was kidnapped. Nonetheless, at this time, his daughter now have its turn to save his father together with her mother. The film ended as Bryan Mills killed Murad Krasniqi, the father of the kidnapper whom Bryan killed before.

Reviewing the film through the directing of Olivier Megaton of the French-American thriller film, Taken 2, the story of the film was great although it is already too conventional because we have already seen numerous films, which do have stories about kidnappings.  However, what made the film not so good is its storyline. The story of the film was very predictable. After witnessing the first scenes, you will be able to quickly predict what is going to happen next. The film does not help the spectators of the film to form witty criticisms because they are already providing everything on the screen. If the spectators of the film could provide some criticisms, yes they could give but just some sort of superficial reviews and criticisms. They are not making the spectators of the film to think but to just sit and enjoy the movie and it is done.

There were also numerous scenes in the film that are just fantasia. One of which is when Bryan Mills commanded his daughter to throw grenades coming from the hotel where his daughter was to one certain place. This is ridiculous. No police officer in Istanbul would allow that thing to happen. Not just in Istanbul but also in any other countries, who would allow you to just throw off grenades without any valid purposes. In addition, when their abductors already kidnapped Bryan Mills, he was still able to call his daughter via phone in front of his kidnappers and instructed her daughter some things to be able to get away with their abductors. As we all know, kidnappers are supposed to be bad and evil and so who would allow their captives to call someone? Another scene in the film is when Bryan and his wife were placed in a dark room. The leader of the abductors, the father of the son whom Bryan killed before, just left them their without any person guarding them to secure that they will not be able to run away from them. The story of the film was good but it was not well directed.

Talking about the acting of the cast, Liam Neeson’s acting was excellent and admirable. He is a manly, retired CIA agent but he has still able to manage to act in a way to show how he is as a father, as the typical father we all know that is loving and protective. He was able to show in the film the skills he has as a retired CIA agent and it looks like he is really a CIA agent though he is not in real life. In addition, with Maggie Grace’s acting, the daughter of Bryan in the film, her acting was great but I do not just like some of the scenes where she acted. I just do not like the savor of some of the scenes where she acted. Some scenes were acted exaggeratively.

Moreover, talking about the cinematography of the film, the shots were good and directed well. The scenes they made were appropriate to the place where they were shooting the film. One exemplar is when Bryan Mills and his wife Lenore was being chased by their abductors, the certain place in Istanbul where they were is appropriate to that particular scene they are trying to shoot.

Furthermore, with all the formal or technical elements of the film like scoring, sound and set design of the film, it falls under Formalist Theory. The music and sound effects they utilized in the film were really an enormous help to be able to make some certain scenes to be more realistic. When the kidnappers are chasing and looking for Kim in the hotel in Istanbul, the sounds being played as the scene is also being shown, were good and so the scene is convincing and the tension is there in the spectators. Diverse emotions are being build up.

(c) Judd V. Bantug 

 

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (2010)

Movie Poster

From Gabrielle Zevin’s novel with the same title, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is 2010 drama film starring Maki Horikita, Kenichi Matsuyama, Yuya Tegoshi and Anton Yelchin. It was filmed in Japan with a quarter of the English language and was released on March 27, 2010. It was directed by Hans Canosa and was produced by Kwesi Collisson under Aoi Production and Dot Dot Dot Films.

The story was about a girl who lost 4 years worth of her memories when she fell on the stairs in front of their school. The girl, Naomi Sukuse (Maki Horikita) was helped by a boy from her school for he was the only one who saw the accident; Miwa Yuji (Kenichi Matsuyama) pretended to be her boyfriend so that she could have some company.

Tokyo American School facade

Naomi is a student of Tokyo American School, an international school in Japan. She lives with her father, Goro Sukuse (Atsuro Watabe).  Her best friend Mirai Hasegawa (Yuya Tegoshi), helps fasten regaining her memory through songs burned in CDs. Naomi have a boyfriend named Ace Zuckerman (Anton Yelchin) but feels like she barely knew him at all and refused  to have sex with him on the Homecoming. Naomi and Mirai were members of the yearbook club in their school.

Naomi had a very hard time adjusting to things since she was not used to it and felt like she is a very different person. She also had doubts if the “old” she was even happy in her life. She then decided to cut her hair which gave her a new perspective and feeling. Naomi broke up with Ace the same night of the Homecoming and had a quarrel about Naomi’s new hair which Ace called “stupid”.

Naomi also felt somehow uncomfortable with Mirai since she was unsure about the yearbook. Mirai once mentioned that the yearbook was important for them and that he “believe a good yearbook can create a good school it could even create good students, a good world and a good planet!” and that she might find it boring but they were doing it with conviction. On the other hand, she grew closer and had a special romantic relationship with Yuji. She also joined in a play where she played as the boy main protagonist. She also became close to the people she was not close before like Risa Arisa (Karen Kirishima), her father’s girlfriend/ fiancée and her twin daughters. She also bonded with Alice Leeds (Emma Roberts), the director of the play and others. But as she was experiencing a new life, she was having a gap with her best friend especially when she decided to leave the yearbook.

On the stairs where Naomi had an accident, Yuji and her decided to have fun by collecting their own captured pictures and throwing cameras all over the place. Mirai saw Naomi running carelessly in the stairs and showed concern to her but decided to leave when he realized that it was “none of his business”. As Mirai was walking up the stairs, Naomi suddenly remembered everything. She recalled that she really “chose to dive” and that she was “heading towards something or maybe trying to escape from something” but she decided not to tell anyone about it and acted as if she still had amnesia.

Yuji and Naomi capturing random shots in the stairs

As Naomi was getting some of her textbooks from Yuji’s locker, she saw an envelope from University of Southern California (USC) and decided to give it to him and learned that he passed the exam but Yuji felt indifferent afterwards. One day, Ace was talking to Naomi about tennis; Yuji then suddenly came and punches Ace and told him “Don’t go near her”.

Yuji then went to Los Angeles, California. He then asked Naomi to go there since she promised Yuji that she will go there whenever he feels depressed. Yuji paid for the airfare but made Naomi wait outside the airport for almost two hours.

They went near the seashore and Yuji again left her to get his surfboard for almost an hour or so. He came back with no surfboard in his hands. Naomi asked him what was really happening with him since he is being indifferent again. He told her that he went to a cemetery where he found his self looking for his brother’s grave yet he do not even know where it is. Naomi was contacted by her father that she will be going home the next morning. . As Naomi was on the plane, she watched the presentation burned in a CD that Mirai made for her birthday.

On a payphone, she called Mirai and thanked him for the presentation. There she learnt about Winnie (Kylee) and Mirai dating.  Her father fetched her from the airport and declared that she is grounded and as they were on their way home, she confessed to her father that she remembers everything.

One day, Naomi contacted Yuji through a payphone and learnt that Yuji was in a hospital in Nagano. She asked Mirai to accompany her. He doesn’t really want to but he can’t tolerate Naomi. They took the train to Nagano and went to Yuji. There, Naomi confessed that she remembers everything, that despite it, she still likes Yuji. Mirai did not want to believe that Naomi had already remembered everything the last two months so he walked out and declared that he will just wait outside. Yuji and Naomi went outside also but had a serious talk about how embarrassed he is that Naomi sees him as patient in a mental hospital. He also told Naomi everything that he felt.

Naomi and Mirai on the train to Nagano

On their way home, Mirai and Naomi had dinner and talked about their past. Mirai said that they were having a more special relationship that being best friends and that he was about to confess to her the day the accident happened but was not able to do so since she was not even able to remember him  and also talked about how their relationship changed afterwards.

One day, Naomi received a postcard from Yuji with words written “Forget Me”. That was the time where she learned that she had to move on because that was also what Yuji wants her to do.

the "Forget Me" letter from Yuji

Things were falling at the places where they should fall especially when Ace tried to convince and made Naomi agree to play tennis again. They had a better relationship than they did before as friends. Ace also apologized to Naomi for the things that he had done and the bad things that he said when they broke up. Naomi apologized too.

While watching TV with her father and his fiancée Risa, someone called on Naomi’s phone and told her that Mirai was in the hospital. Naomi visited Mirai their closeness grew back especially when Mirai asked Naomi to take in charge of doing the unfinished business for their yearbook. After the yearbook was finished, she brought a copy to Mirai and had laughs together.

One day on a boat while cruising, Naomi had a heart to heart talk with her father, where she learned a lot of things. On her father’s wedding day, she served as the official photographer at the request of Risa.

On Graduation day as she was taking pictures, Yuji’s mother asked if she and Yuji could have a picture together. There, she remembered everything that Yuji and her shared together. They also had some kind of a closure.

As Naomi and Mirai were walking down the stairs where Naomi had her accident, they shared a type of silence that was not awkward and even describe it as “silence between us sounded like a melody”.

Naomi and Mirai

The film was very technical and has a very creative way of showcasing the story visually. Since the film requires a lot of photographs and some videos, they showed the pictures in the screen like it was a projector so that they don’t have to do another shot and instead have the viewers see it on screen itself. The film was made with artistic-ness so with the Formalist Film Theory the film makers justified the elements of the film. The lighting was perfect and there were no dark shots that could off the mood. One of my favorite elements in the film was the scoring because it describes a certain act and helps in building up the emotion. They used some background effects which were not really noticeable but since I am watching it closely and observantly, I did and I should applaud them because they did it in a complementary way. The editing was good though it was not as seamless as American films were since they used mostly Japanese methods in making the film. The shot composition was amazing like what I mentioned a while ago, they did some good tricks at showing the pictures in the camera, and the angles fit the scenes. Establishing shots were made but there are some settings where it kind of took my time to realize where they are since they did set up the mood by establishing it.

Maki Horikita is a Japanese Actress who played as the main protagonist Naomi Sukuse. Her acting was not all out because I kind of feel that she is somewhat conscious at how she acts. I like her character in the movie though since I am a teenager myself and can relate through some things that she has gone through. Her character is very personal to me because she did some things that I did and will do but nevertheless even if she is not greatest actor to play the role, I like her very much. Kenichi Matsuyama on the other hand, never disappointed me with his acting skills. I have watched several films with him as an actor and he always surprises me with every role that he plays. He was perfect as Yuji Miwa and gave so much justice to his role. His face were so expressive and his action were so moving that the scene where they he had a serious talk with Naomi, I felt him so much. It was so genuine so aside from the creative shots of this film, I will raise my two thumbs up to Mr. Matsuyama. Yuya Tegoshi played as Mirai Hasegawa and was not as outstanding as Horikita and Matsuyama considering that he was one of the main characters. His facial expressions were not as convincing as it should be which he should have given so much importance because his role was so big and necessary. Anton Yelchin, an American actor, played as Ace Zuckerman and like Tegoshi, he was not as convincing for the role. He delivered the lines in a scripted way and I was somewhat disappointed with that. The minor roles like Winnie, Alice and the others were not great yet good. On the other hand, Naomi’s father, Goro Sukuse was played by Atsuro Watabe and its fiancée, Risa Arisa played by Karen Kirishima, were good in their respective roles. Their facial expression was good and It felt like they were not acting at all.

The film was very personal to me not just to Naomi but about everything. Somehow I feel the movie with all my heart for unknown reasons. There are things that we want to forget, things that we want to escape but at some point in our lives, we must learn how to face them. We must know who we are first before we can know other people. We must love our selves first before we can love each other. We must also not rush to forget things because as what Mr. Sukuse said when they were cruising that we will somehow forget the people that we truly love, even the people who we think we’ll remember till the very end and “that’s why the waves of memories get thinner.. It’s because it’s possible to forget those things that it makes it possible for us to love someone else in the future.”

(c) Angelu Gawaran

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (2010) trailer:

Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (Weighed But Found Wanting) 1974

Movie Poster

Considered as Lino Brocka’s “first novel”, Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang is a drama film starring Lolita Rodriguez, Christopher De Leon, Mario O’hara and Eddie Garcia. It was released on May 30, 1974 with a running time of 128 minutes. The film had eight nominations from FAMAS(Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences) Awards and won six awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Christopher De Leon), Best Actress (Lolita Rodriguez), Best Director (Lino Brocka), Best Musical Score (Lutgardo Labad), Best Theme Song (Emmanuel Lacaba for Awit ni Koala).


The story began from a flashback of a crying woman having an abortion. She was accompanied by a man named Cesar (Eddie Garcia) with an old woman, an abortionist. Kuala (Lolita Rodriguez), the pregnant woman, was pleading them to stop but was ignored. After that, she was shown burying her child under a tree.

Berto showing the rattle to Kuala

A dirty, crazy, short bald-patched haired and different Kuala who wanders on the streets of Sta. Rita and sleeps in front of the church was shown. She is an outcast and was always mocked by the society. Berto (Mario O'Hara) who was called Bertong Ketong (Berto the leper), who seeks woman companionship, has the same treatment by the society like Kuala. He has a house in a cemetery together with his dog, Lupa. Berto attracted Kuala by the sound of a rattle and there he bathed, feed and took care of her. He treated her like a normal person and lets her stay there and sleep.

Junior (Christopher De Leon), Cesar’s son was a teenage guy who is somehow different from the society. He was Evangeline’s boyfriend (Hilda Koronel) who then becomes the wife of his close friend. Junior also had a one night special relationship with Milagros (Laurice Guillen), an illegitimate child and sister of one of his peers. But after what they had, Milagros left him without anything. The things that happened to Junior drew him close to Kuala and Berto, the latter always gives him advises and stories from his own life like how he learned to love Kuala and asks for nothing in return, how the society makes fun of them and how he made Junior re-think at laughing at others when Junior talked about his gay teacher and made fun of it.

Junior talking about his gay teacher

One day, Kuala was seen by one of the members La Asociacion de las Damas Cristianas pregnant. Kuala was then taken away from Berto for him not to be able to touch her again. He accepted what had happened but a lot more pain caused Berto when he lost his dog Lupa and found out that it was killed and eaten by the drinking bystanders who made him eat his own pet.


Junior tried to seek help from his father to let Kuala out of the care of the association but got nothing from him. On Christmas time, Berto asked Junior to give Kuala a gift. It was the rattle that always attracts Kuala.

One night, Kuala was on labor and instead of getting help from the sisters of the association, she escaped and went to Berto’s place all blood on her legs. Berto then seek for help and went to the doctor’s house that refused to believe in what he was saying. Berto then held him as a hostage out of desperation. The wife of the doctor then seeks for the townsfolk’s’ help and news spread like a wild fire. Everybody was then following Berto and the doctor as they were on their way to Berto’s place. The police then came and Junior shouted to stop them but failed when they already shot Berto. Junior came to Berto, who had his farewell speech.

Junior crying over Berto's death

 They then heard a baby’s cry in Berto’s house. There, they saw Kuala with her baby. Junior came near her and talked to her then Kuala suddenly remembered everything: Cesar, her abortion, Junior and Berto, who took care and loved her despite her condition. She then gave her baby to Junior and dies. Junior exits through the crowd who gave him a way to walk through with an indifferent looks on their faces. 

Kuala giving her baby to Junior

Junior with the baby walking through the crowd

Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang was directed by Lino Brocka and co-written the story with Mario O’Hara who also produced the film. 

This classic film has the lighting that builds up the mood of the situation. It has these dramatic and sullen aura which gives justice for its drama genre. It also helps set up the character’s emotion which gives an additional flavor for the film. On the other hand, I am quite worried about the background music in some parts of the movie. The first part where Kuala was having an abortion has a very disturbing background. In my opinion, it does not match nor helps in building the act, it was a one of the most sensitive and important part of the film and should have been given a much more soulful background in it. Contrary to the first scoring, the background music of Kuala where she was shown wandering the streets and sleeping outside the church has a very emotional and genuine feeling in it. I like it very much to the point that I pity Kuala for what had happened to her life. It was so personal to me and I was also happy for the fact that the title of the movie was in the lyrics of the song. The music was provided by Lutgardo Labad and Emmanuel Lacaba. No wonder why it won as the Best Theme Song for FAMAS. 

The Structuralist Film Theory is very strong in this film. The shots were created to convey message. A good example would be when Berto saw Kuala lying somewhere with her legs wide open. Berto’s face and Kuala’s legs were shown alternately which gives us the message that Berto wants to have sex with Kuala even if his expression is unreadable. 

The editing is fine considering it is an old movie. The transitions were normal which fades from one scene to another. There are just some shots were it is kind of unstable like when Berto was showing Kuala the rattle but it is very effective since it establishes the mood of the acting. Establishing shots were also shown which helps the viewer know where the place is happening.

Lolita Rodriguez played as Kuala and was so great at it. Her character was very strong considering she had a minimal dialogue. She justified her role by actions and facial expressions and I should give her two-thumbs up for that because I really appreciate and understand how hard it is to deliver such role without even saying anything. Junior was portrayed by Christopher De Leon and I think there is no one that could ever be anymore perfect for the role. He had this good guy look on him which is needed strongly for his character. The way he throws his lines were also undeniably good. He does it with conviction and genuine feelings. His facial expressions are good as well especially when he cried of Berto’s death and when he walked through the crowd while holding the baby. For some unknown reason, my favorite character is Berto who was portrayed by the late Mario O’Hara. He gave justice to the wise yet society-outcast character. He makes me pity and appreciate him. His character was so moving and it can be seen happening in real life. 

Eddie Garcia played as Cesar and of course, he was perfect for the role. Known as the womanizer and called “Manoy” even in real life, he makes me hate him. As an antagonist in any story, if you make the viewers hate you, then you are doing great. Well, I can absolutely say that he did great then. I kind of had a problem with Milagros played by Laurice Guillen since her character did not have a closure. She was gone just like that. I don’t know if it is part of the story to leave the people thinking or anything but I think it would have been best if something was heard from her after she and Junior had sex. On the acting skills, she was just fine with her character, not really outstanding. She could have had a lot more emotions on her face because her role was quite forgettable. She was only remembered because the viewers were looking for her after she her character vanished. The other minor characters like Evangeline played by Hilda Koronel, The Association with Anita Linda and others, Junior’s friends and the town’s people acted very natural. Since I am a Filipino, I can relate so much in some of their characters because some of it are still seen and felt nowadays. They were quite convincing in their respective roles.

The film was so realistic that every Filipino can relate to it. Some may deny it, some may just shrug their shoulders and some will agree to me. It is just a sad fact about how the society can dictate someone’s life. Like Kuala and Berto, they are neglected and considered an outcast because they are different from the others. The things is, being different is not so bad. What makes someone bad is how narrow-minded and hypocrite he can be. We are all trying to fit in a society that judges us even before we do something. After watching Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang, you should ask yourself. Are you any different from them?

(c) Angelu Gawaran

The Others (2001)

Theatrical release Poster

In Jersey, The Channel Islands of year 1945, starts the story of a Catholic mother named Gracie Stewart (Nicole Kidman) together with her two little children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley).

Three servants arrived at their house – Mrs. Mills (Fionnulla Flanagan) as their new nanny and housekeeper, Mr. Tuttle (Eric Sykes) as their new gardener and Lydia (Elaine Cassidy) a young mute girl, as their new maid. They were told about the condition of the children that they cannot be exposed to any light stronger than a candle, the reason why they are also home-schooled and Gracie serves as their teacher.

Bizarre happenings were felt at the time the servants arrived.  Gracie felt that something was wrong and it became stronger when Anne said she was seeing other people and there was a boy named Victor living in the house.  She also drew a picture of four people—a man and a woman, the young boy named Victor and an old woman whom she claimed that she sees the most.  Gracie searched the entire house with a shotgun to look for the “intruders”, she thought that Anne was just inventing it to scare her little brother Nicholas until she heard the piano play by itself inside an empty room. She also found some post-mortem photograph. She asked Mrs. Mills to burn them because she felt uncomfortable with them inside their house.

Gracie searching for the "intruders"

Gracie then went out to get a priest and have their house blessed. A heavy and thick fog welcomed her that has been there longer than it has been it should be. She then lost herself and accidentally found her husband Charles (Christopher Eccleston) whom she thought died in the war. They then went back to the mansion but Charles was not himself and was always alone in the room.

Anne and Gracie fitting the dress

Meanwhile, Gracie gave her daughter a bride-looking dress that she sewed herself for Anne’s communion.  Gracie left and let Anne enjoy her dress for a few more minutes. When she came back, she saw the old woman (Renée Asherson) that Anne drew in her daughter’s dress and attacked it not knowing that she attacked Anne instead. Anne then became distant to her mother. Mrs. Mills told Anne that she was also seeing the intruders but must not tell her mother because she said that Gracie was not yet ready for it.

Anne told her father about what happened. Gracie explained to him that it was not Anne that she saw that’s why she attacked it. Charles then said that he was going back to the military. She told him that the war has already ended but he still left the next morning.

Gracie was awakened one morning by the screams of her children when they found out that the curtains that protect them from sunlight was nowhere in sight. She blamed the servants from removing it and commanded them to help her look for it. She hid her children in a safe room and searched for the curtains while holding a shotgun. She then thinks that they are the cause of the disappearance of the curtains and castes them out.

Post-mortem Photograph of the servants

Anne and Nicholas sneaked out that night to find their father and stumble into the graves of their servants, who then suddenly appeared. This was also the time where Gracie found a post-mortem photograph of their servants. In the yard, the children ran back to the mansion with Gracie already outside holding a shotgun. She tried to shoot them but misses and Mrs. Mills told her instead that they were already killed by tuberculosis for more than half a century ago. Gracie ran back to the house and locked the door, Anne told her that they saw their servants’ graves and should not open the door. Gracie then told the children to go hide upstairs. The servants, outside the door, told her that they must learn to live together, “the living and the dead”. Gracie shouted at them that they should “leave them in peace”. The children then hid upstairs in a closet. Downstairs, the servants told the truth: the intruders are actually inside the house and they are the one who took the curtains. Mrs. Mills also said that “sooner or later they’ll find you”.

The old woman found the children. They then learned that the old woman is a communicator of spirits of the dead (a medium) and discovered that they were the ghosts and not the intruders. 

the "Intruders/ Vistors"

It was also revealed that Gracie killed her own children and then committed suicide. Gracie cannot believe with what she was seeing and attacked the “intruders” by ripping the papers on the table with force. She then realized and remembered everything: before the servants came, she went insane because of her missing husband and frustrations that lead her to kill her own children with a pillow then puts the shotgun in her forehead and pulled the trigger. She thought everything was fine after that and was thinking that they were given another chance to live. Mrs. Mills also told Gracie that they’ll learn to get along together with the living and sometimes forget that there are other people inside their house. The children can now be exposed to sunlight since they do not have their sensitive condition anymore.

On a window, Gracie and the children were looking outside. Victor’s family then moved out. The gate of the mansion was shown with a sign of “For Sale” in it.

Gracie and the children on the window

For Sale sign outside the mansion

Under the Structuralist Film Theory and based on how it was described, the film was basically and mostly based on it. It conveys meanings through shots which is great for films since it is a visual type of medium and thus needs a “Show don’t tell” type of acts. It has some formalist film theory in it too since the shots, sound and set design, lighting were somehow artistic and speaks for art especially the story itself.

The film has the lighting that it needs. Dark shots were perfect for most of the scenes since the story has it that they need to keep the lights down. The sound was thrilling when it should be like when Gracie was looking for the intruders and she was inside the room where she found the photographs. It made my heart beat fast because of the suspense. The setting was creepy and it justified that they do not have neighbors to call on to, the house also have this haunted-house like aura. The shots were perfect; I can’t even tell anything that could go wrong with it. It has establishing shots of the mansion, the inside of the house and the characters faces were shown greatly when an emotion was arching up. The editing is almost flawless; it was like sewed from shots to shots.

Nicole Kidman played as Gracie Stewart and was so great. She gave justice by being so elegant and classic; she also has this intimidating look on her that is just perfect for her character since the setting of the movie was in year 1945. And is should not forget Alakina Mann as Anne Stewart because she has the most outstanding character in all. Her physical features, the way she frowns, speaks was just so how Anne I was expecting to be.  She did not just gave justified her role, she also made it stand out. I just love her character personally. James Bentley as Nicholas is so cute. He looked helpless and dependent which complements the story he is in. Fionnula Flanagan as Bertha Mills was good enough for the character. She seems scary especially towards the end of the movie when she was telling the truth to Gracie but still possesses a caring aura in her. Eric Sykes as Edmund Tuttle has not been exposed much on the movie but helped by building his own mysterious character. I should applaud Elaine Cassidy as Lydia because even if she did not have any dialogue (she was mute in the movie) she stood out to me like Alakina did and for some unknown reason, she left a mark to me. The old woman on the other hand, was portrayed by Renée Asherson was just fine. I think the reason why she was scary was because of her eyes which was not natural obviously but I think any old woman (physically) can do her role. It was not as effective as I was wishing it to be. 

The film was Written and Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, who was also in-charge with the music. I should give him a two thumbs-up for creating such a great film that has a great twist. I am such a fan of Psychological Horror films and he made it an unforgettable one. 

(c) Angelu Gawaran

The Others (2001) official Trailer :

Cellular

               “If the signal dies so does she.” With the tagline of the 2004 thriller, action, drama and crime film, Cellular, which runs for one hour and thirty-four minutes, avid fanatics of thriller/suspense films, would easily grasp what the film is all about.  The film which was released on the 10^th of September 2004, is all about Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a middle-aged woman who is a high school Biology teacher, a mother of one kid named, Ricky Martin (Adam Taylot Gordon) and a wife to Craig Martin (Richard Burgi) who works in a real state. The film started as Jessica Martin dropped off his son, Ricky Martin just nearby from their Brentwood mansion to his son’s school bus. As Jessica Martin went back to her mansion, a gang with their leader, Ethan Greer (Jason Statham) who was able to enter the Martin’s residence by smashing the house’s backdoor window, unexpectedly kidnapped her. As Jessica Martin was thrown inside a van, she was placed in an attic of a house with no idea in mind where she is particularly. As Jessica was shivering due to the intense fear brought by the gruesome situation which transformed her ‘normal’ life before into a desolate one, luckily, she found a telephone but not totally usable because it is a bit broken and the wires on it were already worn out. Nonetheless, as a Science teacher, she was able to fix the broken wires on the telephone and she was able to dial a random number fortunately. As she pressed numbers on the telephone, she was able to call a young man who is just hanging out with friends and doing nothing in a beach named Ryan (Chris Evans). As Ryan answered the call from his mobile, Jessica, who was still shook and traumatized, talked to Ryan instantly as she hears Ryan’s voice and she asked for help. She told Ryan that she was kidnapped and that she barely needs his help and that help is by going to the police. At first, Ryan did not believe Jessica thinking that she is just fooling him. Nevertheless, as Ryan hears Jessica and her abductors who kidnapped her from their mansion, that is the time wherein Ryan started to believe Jessica. As they talk over the phone, Jessica told Ryan to go to his son’s school because the kidnappers would also get her son. As Ryan went to the school, Jessica dictates what her son looks like, what he wears, what his bag looks like. As Ryan saw the kid with The Lord of the Rings backpack, the kid was already captivated by the kidnappers. As Ryan reported to Jessica what happened, she warned Ryan that her family is really in so much danger because her abductors are now planning to get his husband, Craig who is boarding in LAX anytime. Jessica’s abductors are targeting Craig’s financial properties knowing that he is working in a real state plus the fact that their family is affluent. Ryan did not get Craig too. Jessica felt so helpless. As Jessica saw her son and her husband, she made a way to escape their abductors and they rode in an SUV. The film ended as the police officer Mooney helped Ryan to rescue Jessica and her family. Mooney together with Ryan, they killed Ethan Greer. As the film ended, finally, Jessica met Ryan and maybe for a consolation, she asked Ryan, “Is there anything I could ever do?” Ryan replied, “Jessica, don’t ever call me again.”

When it comes to the directing of David R. Ellis, the film was well directed. The director has justified the genre of the film. The film was indeed full of thrill like what the thrill-seeker spectators of the movie are up to. However, there are some notable mistakes in the film that are under the responsibilities of a Director that are also worth mentioning for the betterment of the film. As I watched the film to review and criticize some mistakes committed and as I conducted a thorough scrutiny of the mistakes of the film via the internet, I found out numerous mistakes. One of which is when Ryan is waiting for Ethan Greer (Jason Statham) to call him back, the ringtone heard is monophonic. The type of phone Ryan has plays polyphonic ringtones only. In addition, another mistake that can be seen in the film is when Ethan and Ryan fought in the boat shed. You can see that one of Ethan's hits does not go even nearby Ryan's face and still he falls! Another, in the film, Ryan is supposed to be going to LAX, but when he enters the airport, you can see that it is not in LAX. 

Moreover, talking about the cinematography of the film or the art of motion picture photography, the shooting of the film accompanied by the apparatuses utilized, were great. The cinematographer of the film, Gary Capo, used different shots and film techniques.  

Furthermore, when it comes to the acting of the actors like Kim Basinger, Jessica Martin in the film, she has portrayed her role in the natural way she could. Like the scenes when she was trying to fix the telephone and when she was trying to call Ryan via the phone. Fantasy it is, but Kim Basinger has acted the way that it would look more realistic in the eyes of the audience. Additionally, Jason Statham was also great when it comes to his acting in the film. He has showed and proved to us that he is not just good when he is the protagonist of a film, but also even when he is portraying an antagonist role he can still act the outstanding and distinguished way he acts similarly with his protagonist roles before. More than that, looking at the screenplay of the film, the script was well written by the screenwriters, Chris Morgan and Larry Cohen. One part of the lines of the actors that I did like the most is when Ryan told Jessica not to call him ever again; sounds sarcastic and funny at the same time.

Filtering the film with the use of theory, this film falls under Structuralist Film Theory. In the film, there are various shots and angles used in the film used to show and convey meaning to the audience to what will happen next. In the film, the type of shot used when Jessica Martin was kidnapped was different with the type of shot/angle used when his son was in school being kidnapped also by the abductors that conveys to the audience that her son would also be kidnapped next after her. The type of shot used in the scene of Jessica Martin’s son, conveys to the audience what will happen next and that would be his son will also be captivated. As we all know, in Structuralist Film Theory, it emphasizes how films convey meaning through the use of codes or symbols. Lighting, angle, shot duration and all other elements are also part of the ‘codes and conventions’ the Structuralist Film Theory is talking about. 

(c) Judd V. Bantug